


Things Time Can't Heal

by SilenceIsGolden15



Series: Voltron Oneshots [21]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is a bitch, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra reveal, Gen, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mind the tags kids this one is dark, Protective Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 07:02:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16236614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceIsGolden15/pseuds/SilenceIsGolden15
Summary: Yes I know I've already written a Keith Galra reveal fic but I wanted to write another one so here ya go.





	Things Time Can't Heal

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE MIND THE TAGS. There's nothing explicit in this fic but it's very dark and has the potential to be triggering so please be careful.

Keith tried his best not to show how much the trials had shaken him. Shiro had taken him aside for a few minutes to calm him down after they got Red under control, to explain that it had been a hologram he’d seen, not the real Shiro. And logically, he accepted that. Logically, he knew he couldn’t have actually seen his father who’d left him all those years ago. He knew that.

And yet. 

And yet, he was still hyperconscious of Shiro’s heat standing behind him as he piloted Red back towards the Castle, hyper aware of how it could disappear at any moment. Then thinking of his father inevitably led him straight down the rabbit hole of what happened after he left, and so he was also painfully aware of how Shiro and Kolivan’s arms were right next to him, and how they could move so easily and so quickly and strike him if they wanted to. 

And then, of course, was the knowledge that they might want to. Kolivan because Red had destroyed their base, and Shiro because Keith was the enemy and now it was obvious that he couldn’t be trusted. 

He thought of the others, waiting aboard the Castle for their return. He felt sick. 

He would have to tell them. He would have to tell them, and everything would fall apart. He knew the steps like a dancer knew their routines: Faces twisting in anger, then shouting loud until he’d want to put his hands over his ears and the ceiling felt like it might come down, then flashes of movement and sharp stinging pain which would vary in accordance to the transgression (and this was the worst crime he could’ve possibly committed). 

They might keep him around for awhile, maybe in hopes they could fix it, maybe just for someone to torment. And he would stay because all he ever wanted was a home and somewhere he belongs. But inevitably it would get too much, and they’d take his armor and his bayard and his lion and his purpose and set him adrift again, alone again, and the cycle would continue and never end. 

Keith knew this, and still he flew towards the Castle, tightening his shaking hands around the controls. 

* * *

Shiro was trying really hard not to show how freaked out he was. There was a strange churning in his gut that pitched higher whenever he caught a glimpse of Kolivan’s purple fur in the corner of his eye, and it pressed up against the back of his throat when he thought of what they’d learned.

_ Keith is Galra. He’s one of them. _

He thought it, and he wanted to be afraid. 

But then he’d look down at the teenager, still flying despite the wound on his shoulder that sluggishly oozed blood into the black substance of his suit. He’d look at the impassive mask he wore that did nothing to hide the wildness in his eyes, and his stomach would jerk for a completely different reason. 

No matter how loudly that part of his brain screamed at him, he just couldn’t find it within himself to be afraid of Keith. Not after the Garrison, where he’d seen Keith snap at him and then throw himself away as though he was expecting to be hit. Not after Voltron, after feeling the relief flowing off of the Red Paladin when Allura told him Shiro would be fine after the fight with Haggar. And not after the trials, when he’d seen him crumble in the face of his best friend leaving him. 

No, he wasn’t afraid, and he wouldn’t let the others be either. 

The flight back to the Castle felt like an eternity, but it was probably only half an hour. As soon as the lion was docked Kolivan made his way out of it, eager to meet with Princess Allura and start discussing the terms of their alliance. Shiro hung back a moment to help Keith, who barely reacted when Shiro took his arm to lead him out of the lion. That wild look had faded, but the emptiness it left behind wasn’t much better, and Shiro put himself on high alert. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen Keith shut down, and he knew it was only a matter of time before shit hit the fan.

The others were gathered in the hangar for their arrival. They all eyed Kolivan a bit uneasily as he quietly murmured his speech about alliances and the fight against Zarkon, but all of their nerves seemed to melt away into concern when Shiro and Keith emerged from Red. 

“Jesus, man!” Lance exclaimed, blatantly ignoring the fact that he’d interrupted Kolivan. “You look like you went through a blender!”

“What happened?” Pidge questioned, and the same time that Hunk wrung his hands together and squeaked out a question of his own. 

“Do you need a pod?”

Before either of them could answer, Allura turned an angry look on Kolivan. 

“What did you do to my paladin?” Her voice was ice and salt, fire and brimstone, all rolled into one. 

“It’s alright, Allura.” Shiro said, keeping his voice low and soothing more for Keith’s sake than anyone else's. “We can explain everything.”

So they all stood semi-patiently while Shiro explained. He could feel Keith slumping further and further into his side with every word out of his mouth, and his own worry compounded. He had to get him out of this situation-- patch him up somewhere private where he could let everything out without having to worry about the others seeing him being weak. 

Then he came to the reveal, and it felt like even the air stopped moving in the room. 

Everyone stared at Keith for a long moment. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge snuck anxious glances at each other, then back at Keith, but Allura’s glassy stare didn’t waver. Coran took a step closer to her, just behind her elbow, while Shiro tightened his grip on Keith. He could feel the younger boy trembling. 

Allura’s hand moved, a sharp jerk upwards, probably to plant itself over her chest or her mouth in shock and surprise. 

Keith hit the fucking floor. 

He jerked right out of Shiro’s hold, not just letting himself fall but actively propelling himself down, and the other paladins gave little gasps of alarm as his knees connected with the metal with a clang. 

“Did he just pass out?” Lance squawked, holding out his hands awkwardly as though he was about to catch him but had been two seconds too slow. 

He hadn’t. He was on his knees, head ducked and hidden under his arms. Still shaking. 

Allura, Coran, and Kolivan stood stiffly on the sidelines, clearly unsure, while the other paladins hovered. 

Shiro sucked in a deep breath and held it. He had to keep his composure, get Keith out of here so he could calm down, away from Allura’s cold glare. Slowly, fighting to keep his composure, he sank to the floor next to Keith, not touching yet. 

“Allura.” He began, repeating when she didn’t look at him immediately. “Go talk with Kolivan. We can discuss this later.” 

Allura looked at him. Looked at Keith. Then turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, heels clacking angrily. Keith flinched at the sound. 

Shiro waited patiently for Coran and Kolivan to follow the princess before turning his attention to Keith. The other paladins still stood nearby, watching anxiously without a word, and Shiro tried his best to ignore them. 

“Keith, you with me bud?” 

After a moment's pause, Keith gave a small, careful nod, still not moving his arms away from his head. 

“Ok, good. You’re hurt, ok, so I need to take you to the infirmary to get you patched up. Understand?”

Another timid nod. 

“Can I help you up?”

Nod. 

Gently, Shiro slipped his hands under Keith’s arms and lifted them both to their feet. Keith still hung his head, not looking at his fellow paladins, and not resisting at all when Shiro turned him in the direction of the infirmary, even though all of his muscles were tense. 

The other paladins parted easily for the two of them, but closed ranks again and followed them to the infirmary. Anxiety was thick in the air. 

“Is this really happening?” Lance murmured, barely audible over the sound of boots on the floor. “I’m not dreaming? Keith is Galra?”

“I don’t think that’s what we need to be worrying about.” Hunk answered, and one of the knots in Shiro’s stomach relaxed. “I think we need to worry about injuries and blood loss. He fell down.”

“He didn’t fall.” Snapped Pidge in a voice hiding worry beneath tension. “He did it on purpose. He thought Allura was going to hit him.”

Keith flinched again, pressing closer into Shiro’s shoulder, who shot a chastising look over his shoulder at the following paladins. They caught it and all three of them scattered their gazes, sufficiently mollified. But even that couldn’t keep Lance quiet for long.

“Why would he think that? Allura would never hurt one of us.” He kept his voice down to a whisper, and any answer Pidge might have given was drowned out by the door to the infirmary sliding open. 

Shiro drew Keith over to one side to do a general inspection, speaking at the same time.

“Hey, Pidge, you know how to work the pods right?”

“Yeah.” She answered, brushing a chunk of hair behind her ear. “Want me to start one up for him?”

“Please.”

Lance and Hunk stayed near the door when she ventured forth, far enough away that Shiro couldn’t hear their whispering. He decided that was for the better when he reached for the zipper on the back of Keith’s neck to get him out of the suit and felt him turn to stone under his fingertips. He was still staring straight down, nothing on his face, but he couldn’t hide his body’s reactions. Shiro carefully took his hands away and waited for Keith to relax just that small amount again. 

Behind him the pod hissed. 

“Ok Shiro, it’s all set.” He heard the shuffle of her feet as she stepped away from the pod and took another deep breath. 

“Alright, Keith, come with me. We’re gonna get you fixed up.” Laying his hands on Keith’s shoulders, he turned them so that they both faced the pod so that he could push him towards it. They made it about three steps before Keith stopped dead. 

“Keith?”

The red paladin jumped in his arms and spun around. He’d gone a few shades paler than before, and his eyes were wide wide wide open, staring Shiro down. 

“Please no.” He murmured. 

“What?” Shiro stuttered, taken aback by the request, and Keith got visibly more upset. 

“Please don’t, I’m sorry, I can be good I swear, I swear, just don’t lock me away, please please please, I’m sorry--” Keith babbled on, an indistinguishable mess of  _ please  _ and  _ sorry _ , all while the other four people in the room stared at him in bewilderment. 

“We’re not locking you up.” Shiro said, trying his best to keep his worry under wraps. “It’s just a healing pod, it’ll treat your wounds. It won’t hurt, you’ll be asleep. You remember how they work, don’t you?”

But Keith was shaking his head, and the rest of his body was following suit and trembling, and it was like he hadn’t heard a single thing that came out of Shiro’s mouth. 

“I can be good.” He choked out. A single tear escaped and ran down his cheek. “I’ll be good, I’ll train at night, I won’t talk, you’ll never have to see me just don’t lock me away like Sendak,  _ please _ .”

In the background, the other paladins erupted into nervous twitters. 

“He doesn’t actually think we’re gonna--”

“Keith, that’s crazy--”

“We won’t hurt you!” 

Keith didn't hear any of them. He just kept looking at Shiro with big pleading eyes, more tears finding their way out. 

“Please, Shiro.” Shiro felt his heart shatter and his will crumble into dust. “I’m sorry I’m like this, you can punish me if you want, just not like that.” He sniffled and looked down again. “Please.”

It hurt to breathe. But he had to say something. He couldn’t just leave it like this, leave Keith thinking… He forced his mouth to open.

“I’m not going to punish you.” He said, and his voice sounded constricted even to him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. If you don’t want to go in the pod, I won’t force you.”

Keith slumped against his chest, black hair tickling his throat. Shiro stared at the open pod over his head and tried to think past the cloud of emotion gathering in his skull. 

“Shiro.” Hunk ventured to say. “He’s hurt. He needs a pod.”

“Just get me some bandages.” He found himself answering. “I’ll patch him up the old fashioned way.”

Hunk, shoulders hunched and subdued, shuffled off to track down the various medical supplies he’d stashed away in the room. Pidge glared at the floor between her feet in an attempt to hold in her own tears, while Lance just stared blankly. He kind of looked like his entire life was being rewritten before his eyes, and honestly that wasn’t far off the mark. Even Shiro had only seen Keith like this a couple of times before, and never once they’d boarded the Castle. 

Hunk returned with a little pack of medical supplies, and Shiro took it gingerly with one hand, keeping the other wrapped around Keith’s shoulders. 

"I'll take him to my room. You guys should go join Allura."

The other paladins hesitated, exchanging looks. 

"Are you sure?" Pidge eventually said. "We could help."

Shiro nodded firmly. "I'm sure."

They didn't look convinced, but one by one they slipped out the door anyway, leaving Shiro to lead Keith back into the hallway and towards the crew quarters. Keith didn't speak again, and his feet dragged over the metal floor. 

Keith's shoulder was beginning to bleed more freely now, crimson droplets marking their progress from the infirmary to Shiro's bunk. He quickly palmed the door open and hauled Keith inside, anxious to get him bandaged, but was barely past the threshold when Keith suddenly jerked to a stop. 

Shiro looked down at him, and his heart ground to a sudden stop. Keith was pale, his eyes widening again. Except this time it wasn't terror. There was fear, yes, but it was being smothered by something that looked like... resignation. And maybe a little bit of betrayal. Keith wasn't looking at him, and Shiro traced his line of sight to his bed. 

Slowly, Keith raised one of his hands and pressed it over his mouth. 

Shiro barely bit back the vomit. 

"Keith, no, that's not-- I'm not going to-- that's not what this is. I'm just going to bandage you, that's all." 

Keith didn't respond. He was beginning to dissociate completely, and Shiro turned him by his shoulder until they faced each other. 

"Keith. Listen. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. You can move your hand, it's ok."

Keith barely looked at him (at his chin, not his eyes) and took a shuddering breath. Even more slowly than he'd raised it, his hand dropped back to his side. Shiro let out a sigh of relief, though the nausea still roiled. 

"Ok, good. Here, sit on the floor here, we won't go near the bed, ok? There you go, you're doing great." Shiro knew he was babbling, but he couldn't make himself stop, and judging by the blank look on Keith's face as he lowered himself to the floor, he wasn't hearing it anyway. 

Shiro settled himself down behind Keith, carefully opening the first aid kit. Without really thinking about it, he reached for the zipper on the back of Keith's neck to remove his suit. 

Keith tensed up as Shiro drew the zipper down, but he'd been expecting this reaction, so he kept going. It wasn't until he was gingerly pushing the suit off of Keith's arms to get a look at the shoulder wound that Keith's left hand moved and returned to press over his mouth. 

_ Shit. _

"No no no, I'm just bandaging you up, remember? Nothing is going to happen."

Keith just shook his head this time and didn't move his hand, and Shiro had to bite viciously into his own lip so that he wouldn't scream or cry. He held himself together long enough to bandage the worst of Keith's wounds, and then he turned to face the door as he let Keith get dressed. 

Keith didn't move his hand again until they were out of the room and halfway down the hallway towards the lounge. 

There was a method to his madness. Shiro knew Keith needed to rest, but he couldn't leave him alone like this, and he couldn't put him in bed without him freaking out more. So, napping on the couch it would be. 

He expected the other paladins to be in the control room with Allura, so he was surprised when he pulled Keith into the lounge to see Lance sitting tensely in one of the side chairs, arms crossed tightly and anxiously tapping his foot. 

"Lance? What are you doing in here?"

Lance looked up with a tired, false smile. "Hey Shiro, Allura asked me to come get you when you were done with Keith. She needs you for strategy."

Shiro frowned and carefully led Keith over to the couch. He sat stiffly, but as Shiro turned his back he knew the younger boy would be pulling his knees up to his chest and bracing his arms on them the moment he was out of Shiro's sight.

“I can’t leave Keith alone right now.”

“It’s cool, I’ll stay here with him.”

Shiro blinked, his tired brain struggling to comprehend. “Doesn’t Allura need you too?”

Lance’s smile turned strained. “Nah, I’m not a tech genius or a strategist or anything.”

“... Ok, I guess.” Shiro sighed eventually. “Just try not to touch him, ok? Actually, just leave him alone entirely. He’ll fall asleep eventually if you ignore him, but if he thinks someone is watching he’ll keep himself awake.”

The fake smile creased into an all too real frown. “Why would he do that?”

“So no one can sneak up on him.” Was the quiet answer, and Lance finally seemed to understand, if his sharp nod was anything to go by. So with one last worried glance at Keith, who had curled himself into a ball in the corner of the couch, Shiro reported to the bridge.

* * *

Lance settled into a chair in the opposite corner of the room from Keith and busied himself on his tablet. He might’ve been more hung up on the whole ‘Keith having Galra Blood’ thing, but then Keith had thrown himself to the floor and ever since then he could only think about if he was going to be ok or not. He’d never seen Keith as utterly terrified as that moment in front of the pods, and he just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. 

It had taken him a long while, but he’d begun to put the pieces together. Living alone in a shack in the desert, not mentioning his own family members, not showing any desire to go back to Earth, his almost dangerous co-dependency on Shiro, his constant tension and battle readiness, his not so stellar social skills. And now this. 

The picture was becoming clear to Lance now. Keith hadn’t had a nice childhood, not like the rest of them. And it had screwed him up something awful.

Carefully, Lance glanced at him from the corner of his eye. He’d stopped watching Lance so intently and finally put his head down on his knees, probably dozing despite the awkward position. Lance was tempted to get up and drape a blanket over his shoulders, but remembered Shiro’s warning and didn’t move. 

Keith was dealing with enough right now, and the last thing he needed was Lance making it worse.

* * *

It was hours before Allura came to an understanding with Kolivan, and by the time the Galra leader left the ship Shiro was practically dead on his feet. Pidge and Hunk immediately vacated the bridge, beelining for bed, and Coran slinked off saying something about repairs Shiro didn’t understand. It was just him and Allura, who was facing stiffly away from him and scrutinizing something on a screen. Shiro didn’t speak, just turned to leave.

“Did you know?”

He paused, hearing how Allura’s voice rung off the walls. All anger, not a hint of exhaustion. 

“No. And neither did he.”

“Then why did he act like that?”

Shiro shot a glance over his shoulder, but the princess wasn’t looking at him, and her spine was ramrod straight. He bit his tongue and held his temper. 

“He thought you were going to strike him.”

“Why would he think that… if he has nothing to hide?”

Shiro wasn’t going to be proud of this in the morning. But damnit, he was tired and worried for Keith and so fucking  _ angry  _ with Allura and Kolivan and all the rest of them and he just couldn’t anymore. It was the straw that broke his back. 

“Because, Princess,” His voice was falsely even, “Keith has trauma, just like you and me. I don’t know if this sort of thing happened on Altea,” The venom was clear behind his words as his tone began to waver. Altea,  _ perfect Altea _ . “But back on Earth, there are people who are cruel and insecure, and they take it out on people who can’t fight back. It’s called child abuse.”

Allura didn’t react, and she didn’t turn. Shiro faced her back, hands clenching into fists. He was just getting angrier the longer she ignored him. 

“He had people beat him, starve him, lock him in the dark for hours at a time for no reason. So now whenever someone is angry with him he assumes he’s going to be hurt, because that’s how his life was for years.”

Allura still didn’t answer. Shiro marched forward a few steps, and his voice cracked. 

“Are you even listening to me? When he was twelve,  _ twelve fucking years old,  _ Allura, his foster father would sneak into his bed at night and make him put his own hand over his mouth so that no one would hear. Did that sort of thing happen on Altea,  _ Princess? _ ”

Allura anxiously cracked her knuckles, but still didn’t turn. 

“He was there for a year! When he tried to tell his foster mother what was going on she hit him and told him not to spread lies. He was with my family for two years before he spoke a single word, we had to teach him sign language just so that he could communicate! So yes, Allura, he saw your angry face and saw your hand move and thought you were going to hit him. And he blames himself for being Galra and making you angry, because he was taught everything was always his fault. Are you satisfied with his loyalty now?”

There was silence for a long moment before Allura let out a small sniffle. Shiro wanted to snap, wanted to scream and shout until Allura understood even a fraction of what it felt like to have the people who were supposed to love you and care for you unconditionally just hurt you and left you over and over again. 

But he didn’t. Even now, he had more self control than that. 

He didn’t say anything as he left the room. 

  
  
  



End file.
